WCP655

[1]

9 St Mark's Crescent, Regent's Park, London, N.W.

June 17^th. 1866

Dr Felder

My dear Sir

I am now engaged in preparing a paper on the Pieridae¹, in which I propose to arrange all the species of Tropical Asia the Malay Islands and Australia, to describe all the new species in the chief English Collections, and to sub divide the genus Pieris into sections more naturally than I think has yet been done. I have been expecting [for] some time to hear of the publication of your 2^nd. part of the Entomology of the "Novara Voyage" containing the Pieridae, and shall be glad if you will inform me if it will soon be out,² and if not whether you can send me early proofs of the description of new species. I have gone over "Vollenhovens³ monograph"⁴ & find many errors in it owing to the imperfection of his materials; — for example his Pieris emma and Pieris hester are females of which he has already included the males under P. aspasia. He rejects [2] P. temena Hew. from the Malayan Fauna, because the Leyden Mus[eum]. has a specimen said to be from N. Zealand; — I collected it with my own hands in Lombock & have since received specimens collected by my assistant in Flores. P. sulphurea voll. is undoubtedly the female of panda, or rather perhaps of your P. nathalia. Under P. paulina he includes a number of quite distinct species. P. zoe and P. jaquinotii [sic] [jacquinotii] which he places far apart, are excessively close geographical forms. Having apparently received few or no collections from Amobyna he constantly doubts the occurrence of the species there,⁵ which Cramer^{6, 7} gives to that island. In most cases I have the species taken there myself & am convinced that Cramer's locality of Amobyna is in almost every case correct. In one case this leads him into an error. The insect he describes (p. 45) as P. Liberia. Cramer is P. eliada. Hew.⁸ which is found in Ceram & Batchian while the true liberia appears to inhabit Amobyna only, as my own collections shew; and though [3] P. eliada is very close to it, I consider it a distinct & recognizable geographical form.

Vollenhovens' arrangement is most unnatural & heterogeneous, owing to his neglecting neuration⁹ altogether. I am convinced that Pieris hombronii (his no. 2) is closely allied to P. hippo (his no. 55.) I find that Pieris pallene P. padusa, P. parthia (Hewitson)¹⁰ are closely allied to Terias Egnatia God. in fact padusa & egnatia hardly differ except in form of wing. I propose to form these into a new genus, Leucharis,¹¹ between Pontia & Terias.

In my preliminary list I find there are upwards of 150 species of ^Eastern Pieris including all described species & the new ones in my own collection, & I have no doubt there are many more in the Collections of the Brit[ish]. Mus[eum]. & of Mess^rs Hewitson & Saunders^{12 which I have not yet carefully examined.} If you have any duplicates of your Philippine Sp[ecies]. I should much wish for them, & would give you what I can in return.

Are you inclined to purchase the collection of Heterocera from India, of which a list is publishing [sic] by M^r. Moore¹³ in the Proceedings of the [4] Zoological Society 1865 p. 793.¹⁴ The Sphinges [Sphingidae] and Bombyces yet published as far as Cossidae comprise 265 species, and there are certainly a much larger number to come, as the noctuidae and smaller groups are very rich. It is a complete collection of picked specimens in pairs without duplicates. Could you make on offer for them per specimen or per species?

Will the dreadful war, in which your country is I fear about to be engaged,¹⁵ prevent free communication of parcels to & from England? I suppose not for some time at least.

Have you received any new collections from the East of late. I have had a small parcel from Formosa but nothing new but a Pontia [,] Euploea & Lycaena which I have just described in Zoological Proceedings.¹⁶

Hoping that you are in the enjoyment of good health & that I shall soon hear from you in reply to this[.]

I remain | My dear D^r. Felder | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]